Last night's episode wasn't as fantastic as last week's Red-handed, but it was still impressive.  First, I have to say that Ginnifer Goodwin is an excellent actress and it is great to see her on a show that is showcasing her talents.

While I love her as the porcelain perfect Snow, I liked her even more in tonight's episode when she was fighting with her dark side.

IN STORYBROOK

Mary Margaret is arrested and booked and placed is the only jail cell in the county.  I'm surprised they didn't make her wear an orange jumpsuit and pick up trash.

Evidence is piling up against her.  I mean there's the whole dead woman's heart in her jewelry box and then Emma tries to prove her innocence and unearths a large murder weapon conveniently stowed away in a heating duct. 

Of course, it doesn't help that Regina is sitting in on the questioning.  How about the part when Regina tries to get a confession out of her by saying "Losing someone I loved changed me." and "A broken heart can make people do unspeakable things."

The recurring theme of the episode appears to be that Evil isn't born it is made.  That line was said in both Storybrook and Fairytale land.  Do you agree?

David continues to try to be Mary Margaret's savior.  This time he decides that he will go to Dr. Hopper and be hypnotized into remembering what he can't remember.  When this works too well and he sees flashes of his former life he mixes up those memories and thinks that just maybe MM did kill Kathryn.  Oh David.  You are an idiot.  Are you really going to ask her?

Yep.  He is.  And she is pissed.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gold offers his legal services because as we've all come to realize all scummy character's have law degrees.  MM tells him she can't pay him and he says that's okay, "I'm invested in your future."

Later, MM finds one of those skeleton keys that open all doors and decides to flee.  This is after Henry finds those same keys in his mom's house and tells Emma that Regina used them to set up MM. 

In a totally out of place scene, August, our mysterious stranger tells Henry that he believes all the answers are in the book  He tells Henry that some people need proof but that other's can rely on faith.

My favorite scene is when David goes to Regina and says "With all due respect, I don't think you know much about evil." To which Regina replies, "Evil doesn't always look evil."

IN FAIRYTALE LAND

James continues to look for Snow who has taken the potion given to her by Rumpelstiltskin and has morphed into a rather bitchy kind of person.  I loved when she tried to take the bluebird out.  Priceless.

The dwarfs stage and intervention of sorts and tell her that they are tired of her cooking and cleaning and killing all the bugs.  She has changed.  She is EVIL.

Jiminy Cricket tries to intercede on her behalf imploring that she find a conscience that she stop taking her anger out on his cousins and her poor dwarf friends.  Snow concedes and agrees to take her anger our on the queen. 

She tosses on a cloak and heads out to kill the queen.

Grumpy, who you think would be down with this kinds of plan, follows her and pleads with her to stop.  Knock it off. 

He tells her that he will take her to Rumple and that perhaps they can return her to her old state.

Rumple is not all that impressed with Snow until he learns that she is not interested in remembering what he has helped her to forget.  She is only interested in getting his help in killing the queen.

He is eager to help.  He provides her with a bow and arrow that will not miss and tells her where to take the shot from.  It cost her nothing because he is vested in her future.

James learns of this plan and confronts Rumple.  Rumple tells him that for the price of his cloak he will tell James where Snow is but that she is truly evil.  "How can she remember you when she has lost sight of who she really is?" Rumple tells him nothing can stop it save one thing...true love.

ugh...so Disney.

James leave without his cloak and finds Snow.  She doesn't know him.  He kisses her and she slaps him.  Loved that.  She is not in love with him so the spell is not broken.  They argue more and then she decides she has had enough.  It is time to kill the queen.  She fires but James dives in front of the arrow.

Intrigued she asks why he would do that and he says he would rather die than let her heart fill with darkness.  So she kisses him.  And the spell is broken.

They are free to skip and dance and frolic in the forest  

James is captured by King Midas's men and Snow left to return to the dwarfs.  Again...so close yet so far away.  The episode ends with Rumple plucking a hair off of Charming's cloak and placing it in a bottle with Snow's hair.  The hairs love each other and apparently we are left to believe that Rumple has bottled love.

Would you consider taking a love potion?

Next week:  The mad hatter.  Love me some Alice and Wonderland!

This week's episode was packed full of details making recapping the event somewhat difficult.


In Storybrook:


David became synopsis with liar, liar, pants on fire.  He learns from Kathryn that she has applied and been accepted to law school in Boston.

His reaction is to go for a walk with Mary Margaret.  MM decides to pull out the honest card because we all know that people having a heated affair think about honesty A LOT.  She implores David to tell Kathryn that he cannot go to Boston.  He says OK, but we all have our doubts.

Meanwhile we learn that being a biker and a writer is a plausible combination and the name of our mystery writer is indeed...August Wayne Booth.  Um....at least he didn't say John Wilkes Booth.

He invites Emma for a drink and hauls her off to some enchanted wishing well where they can get water from a magic lake.  "If you drink from it, something that is lost will be returned to you."

Hmmm...tempting.

We are privy to a scene in which August is carefully drying and rebounding a book.  Could it be THE book of stories that Henry is missing?

Sure enough after drinking from the wishing well the book just finds Emma underneath her car.  It appears August had something to do with it.  His role in this story is still quite a mystery to me.

David encourages Kathryn to go to Boston but fails to mention why he cannot go with her.  He every so charmingly tells her that he doesn't want to hold her back.  I threw up in my mouth a little.

Kathryn goes to visit her BFF...oh wait...she doesn't have any friends so she goes to see Regina who promptly lies to her and says Sydney took pictures of MM and David and she is "Oh so sorry"  Kathryn loses it and goes to the school where she promptly embarrasses MM.  Soon the entire town is calling her a tramp even though most of them are not sleeping with their husbands either.  The worst part, she knows that David did not tell Kathryn and is lying to them both.  Charming...isn't it?

Regina tries to replace Henry's book with a video game, but Emma surprises him with the return of the book he longed to see.

After ruining MM's professional life, Kathryn has a change of heart.  She writes David a letter blessing his relationship with MM.  Of course, before leaving she must reveal her plan to Regina...her BFF.  Regina gives her blessing then promptly steals and burns the letter. 

Kathryn never makes it out of Storybrook.  Where she is...one can only guess.  Her car was off the side of the road, airbag deployed, empty.  It looked like Frederick was first on the scene.

In Fairytale land,

James flees from King George's kingdom.  He is a little angry.  He sends his men.  James is captured but not by George...by Abigail.

He is determined not to marry someone he doesn't love.  Her response..."How charming."

She doesn't love him either.  Her true love was turned to gold when he saved her father Midas from an attack.  The only way to break his curse is to gather water from Lake Nostos.  Of course, the lake is guarded by an evil beast.

James agrees to get the water for her...so she can save her true love.

"If I return to you then you will be happy and free of pain and if the beast drowns me then I will be free of pain."

James finds the lake and is greeted by a mermaid of sorts that can change into whomever she desires.  She takes the appearance of Snow and nearly succeeds in drowning James but he tells her that he knows what true love feels like and it is not this.  In the end he manages to stab her and retrieve the water for Kathryn.

She pours the water over her golden lover and her returns to her.  He give James a horse and some supplies so he too may find Snow.

James doesn't find Snow but he does find Red.  She tells him that Snow went to the castle to break up his wedding that she does indeed love him.

They are found by King George and he swoops Red onto his horse and they flee into the woods. 

What did you think of this weeks episode?